This one had been on my radar for several years, but for various reasons I hadn’t picked it up.  After missing out on a couple other very cool books that went out of print semi-recently, I had pretty much talked myself into dropping the not insignificant money on it when I spotted an eBay auction that was a great deal.  So, I got this, its companion book A Field Guide to Hot Springs Island (which I’m reading at the time I’m writing this review), as well as a couple other books from the Swordfish Island folks.  

Essentially a system neutral, sandbox setting book for you to drop into your High Fantasy game of choice, it’s clearly got some D&D style ideas behind it.  The various factions and monsters feel like something out of an older module, like something for AD&D or its second edition.  It is also important to know that this is intended for adults.  There’s some nudity and gore depicted in the art.  There’s also some colorful language and adult themes mixed throughout.  

As with a lot of Fantasy settings, the world of Swordfish Islands is an amorphous mix of semi-Medieval European tropes with other cultures and eras, including the Age of Sale, and plenty of strangeness and metaphysical nonsense.  You’ve got an extra-dimensional demon fratboy who’s selling magic drugs.  Elf-junkie ruins, weird plants, elementals, random lizard people, a human merchant company looking to take everything that isn’t nailed down, and a bunch of other factions, all after their own goals, all clashing together on this one weird island that most people didn’t think existed.  And you’re going to drop your players in and see what they get up to. 

There’s no story or plot.  That’s up to you and your group.  This book simply presents the island, is flora and fauna, and the various factions that are in play, and leaves the rest up to you.  It is set up as a “hex crawl.”  The island is broken down into hexes, and then each hex has encounters and such ready for your players.  One thing I really like about the way it’s handled here is that each hex has an obvious element.  If you walk into it, you know there’s a volcano, or a jungle, or ruins, or whatever.  But then there are deeper levels.  So, if you stay within the hex and explore, you find something else.  I believe there are at least three levels in each hex, greatly expanding what you might see and do.  Your players might decide they want to expose the Efreet and topple his drug distribution network.  They might want to save the Nereids.  Maybe they want to play the Obsidian Giants off the Fuegonauts, or ally with the Night Axe ogres and the Arva Lizardmen to create a better, more peaceful place to live.  Or maybe they just want to steal everything that’s not nailed down, including the Efreet’s drug supply, and make a break for the mainland to become wealthy lords.  There are countless options.  Heck, you could even use Hot Springs Island as a jumping off point for interdimensional adventure, as the Efreet has many enemies and allies from beyond whatever world you’ve put it on.  

If you like the tone, which is dark, but also humorous, with a real Sword & Sorcery bent to some parts, this could be a fantastic setting to let your players loose within.  There is occasionally a bit of childish crassness, but I think that often fits with the overall tone.  Especially when you look at the big “villain” at the center of most of the island’s funny business.  The Efreet is, essentially, Tony Montana.  In over his head, kind of dumb, high on his own supply, and teetering on the edge of total disaster.  He’s not some evil genius or clever mastermind.  

In less than 200 pages, it has more gamable content and inspiration than many books twice its size.  I like the heavy ink line art, which has a bit of a 90s comic vibe to it (without all the pouches).  I could also see this being a useful setting for solo play, though it is not designed with that in mind.  The hexes give a lot of possibilities for player choice.  

My one complaint is the book itself.  While the art and layout are great, the physical quality of the book is less so.  The paper is very thin and the whole time I was reading it, I worried I might tear a page.  And I’m not sure how much punishment the binding is going to take.  The book feels flimsy, and like some print on demand books I’ve had.  At its $60. price point, I’d have expected something a bit more sturdy and able to survive being put through its paces at the game table.  This goes double once you put your hands on A Field Guide to Hot Springs Island, which feels much more solid.  After all, I recently read Ultraviolet Grasslands, which is also an independently produced RPG hardcover, and it was $10. cheaper, full color, and didn’t make me worry it was going to fall apart while I was reading.  This all comes down to feeling so far.  I haven’t torn a page.  The spine hasn’t failed.  Maybe it’s more sturdy than it seems.  But for $60. I’d like some more piece of mind.

I really hope I’m able to bring this setting to the table.  My inclination for this sort of Fantasy is to use Dungeon Crawl Classics.  But after recently reading it, and being generally reminded of my love for Basic Roleplaying and similar systems, I’m now tempted to look at using Dragonbane.

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